Legislative committee clash over Puma Shen's speaking time
Taiwan's legislature turned into a shouting match over the DPP's Taipei mayoral candidate, a sign of how bitter the race has become 46 days before local elections.
- KMT convener Hsu Chiao-hsin called a one-hour recess of the foreign affairs and defense committee, which DPP lawmakers said was a trick to make candidate Puma Shen miss a campaign event.
- DPP legislators Lin Chu-yin and Wang Yi-chuan shouted her down; Hsu accused them of throwing a tantrum and blamed them for eating up Shen's time.
- The recess ended up lasting five minutes, and Shen got his questions in and left on schedule.
- KMT conveners have been stacking the agenda with Taipei issues like moving Songshan Airport, widely read as helping Mayor Chiang Wan-an's re-election bid.
- Beijing is piling on too, putting Shen on its list of separatists and threatening to punish his father's business in China, which Taipei calls election interference.
Outlook: Expect more procedural ambushes and committee theater aimed at Shen as the mayoral race tightens into its final weeks.